As University of Illinois at Chicago faculty members went on strike this week for the first time in school history, English Professor Walter Benn Michaels took a break from picketing to give a reporter a lesson about the academic pecking order.

Seventy-five percent of the lawmakers in the Illinois House have never stepped foot in a maximum security cell block, and 40 percent of the legislators have never toured or visited a prison even once. This despite the fact that they’re the ones signing the checks for the $1.3 billion dollar per year agency.

The U.S. has earned both silver and bronze medals in the Olympic women’s bobsledding events. The bronze team includes former University of Illinois track and field star Aja Evans. The Canadian team took the gold.

The four men seeking the Republican nomination for governor met in a debate Tuesday night in Springfield, the last time they're scheduled to appear together downstate before next month's primary election.